Push
by ayla darrow
Summary: Aideen Crafword refuses to "depend" on a man like her mother did, which is why she left the Dixon brothers in the early days of the apocalypse. However, she finds herself thinking about the younger brother, intrigued by him. Will fate bring them together once again?
1. Chapter 1

_day 11_

A finger wrapped in Nutella approached a young woman's mouth which quickly wrapped around the finger and she pulled the finger out, having licked it clean in a matter of seconds. Her nose scrunched up slightly at the faint taste of pennies that followed the taste of Nutella. If she had a source of water, she would have cleaned the blood off of her hands a long time ago. But until she managed to find water, she was going to have to settle with a metallic aftertaste with her finger foods.

Her eyes darted towards the brothers that had saved her from her former companion. They didn't seem to suspect anything. As far as she knew, they thought that she had almost been consumed by one of those things and they had saved her and that was the way she preferred it to be. If they knew that she had had a little… outburst she had a feeling that they wouldn't be as willing to allow her to travel by their side.

"Don't ya wanna clean yer hands, before ya suck off all the blood off of yer fingers?"

She directed her attention towards the younger brother, Daryl. It hadn't taken her long to take an actual liking to the man, not with his brother around. He wasn't as rude and he didn't make a point to constantly refer to her as some sexual object, there for their enjoyment. The worst thing about the younger one was that he was just so damn silent, leaving Merle to continue the conversation with his crude remarks and wandering hands.

"No, I'd rather enjoy the blood, thank you."

Expressing her emotions had never been her strong side, so being polite as a nice gesture was something beyond her abilities. It was the result of her growing up in an emotionally lame home. Her father had been a near-constantly absent salesman who, by her assumption, was very likely living a double life of some sorts. Her mother was a broken woman in her daughter's eyes, dependent on her man and unable to survive without him. If there was one thing that she didn't want- it was to end up like her mother.

"Suit yerself."

She raised her head in order to glance at the younger brother once more. She couldn't help but think that he'd be a handsome man, if only he cleaned up once in a while. Not only were his clothes dirty but his face had specks of dirt all over it. She tried to imagine what he looked like under all that dirt, what he was really like. She liked to think that the dirt distorted the shape of his face and if she were ever to see him clean, she would see a new man.

Not that she could afford to criticize someone for being dirty. Her hands were covered in dried blood and her clothes had random blood spatters all over them and the thighs of her pants had a particularly bad stain that had come from her former companion dying on her thighs. She hadn't had a chance to look in a mirror but she was more than sure that her face was probably dirty and her hair, it had to be a mess. She tilted her head, still focusing her attention on the younger brother who was busy whittling a piece of wood.

Did he consider her to have potential to be beautiful when he looked at her, thinking that all she needed to do was clean up?

She immediately stopped herself at that thought, reminding herself that it was that kind of thinking that was going to get her in her mother's situation. If she would allow herself to think that he was likeminded, that perhaps he also liked her, it was only a recipe for her depending on him and if she fell into that trap, well, she was terrified that she would never be able to get herself out of it. She looked away from the younger brother, her eyes briefly pausing when they passed the older one who was looking at her with a grin on his face.

"Ain't ya gonna introduce yerself t'yer saviors, sweetcheeks?"

The sound of the older brother speaking up made the hairs on the woman's neck stand, although they did so in annoyance rather than fear. She forced herself to look at the man again and she smiled forcefully, acting as if she actually wanted to tell him what her name was. If she wanted to have extra protection, well, she was going to have to put up with these two, at least until she managed to get her hands on a weapon of some sorts.

"The name's Aideen Crawford," she said, hoping to pass off as content. "I am-" she paused. "Was a pastry chef."

"Pastry chef? 'S that one 'f them fancy restaurant jobs?" Merle asked, obviously interested in her former occupation even though he addressed it in a way that rubbed Aideen the wrong way. The woman shrugged slightly, turning away, her mouth turning into a small scowl.

"I do desserts, pastries, breads and baked goods. You know?"

"That's what I like! A woman that knows her place," Merle said before emitting a cynoid-like laugh. "The kitchen!" He laughed even harder, acting as if he had just delivered the greatest punchline the world had ever heard. When the younger brother received a glance from Merle he quickly followed suit and laughed too, seemingly amused by his brother's joke.

"You know, we're not in the 60s anymore, so you should can it with the sexist jokes."

Aideen immediately regretted her decision to tell the two men off, because as soon as she did, Merle's expression soured and she could tell that he was not amused. She hadn't thought about it earlier, but now that she did, he certainly didn't look like the kind of man who was used to others telling him off, at least not without consequences. She waited, attempting to anticipate his moves. She half-expected him to stand up and run towards her violently but when he did stand up, he merely pointed his finger at her and said: "Ya can't be runnin' yer mouth t'someone that's riskin' their ass t'keep ya safe, got it?"

After that, he walked away, giving Aideen the impression that he was more mature than she had given him credit for earlier. He had appeared to be a big oaf of the bad kind and while he wasn't her favorite person, he wasn't senselessly violent, at least not towards strange women.

"You shouldn't talk like that t'him. Merle don't take kind to women who don't respect 'im."

It was tempting for her to laugh at Daryl's warning although she quickly decided to repress the laugh. After all, what if he shared the same temperament as his brother? Even though he seemed to be the calmer, saner one, there was certainly no telling what he was like beneath that dirty exterior of his. She shrugged in hopes of indicating that she made a mistake.

"I ain't fuckin' with ya. Merle ain't the kind of guy who'll let a woman talk to 'im like that without consequences. Yer lucky I didn't have t'pull 'im off of ya."

"You're telling me you would have pulled him off of me? I might just be a pastry chef, but I'm no idiot. You're no hero."

Daryl stopped whittling almost immediately when he heard her last sentence. You're no hero. His heart sank as he admitted to himself that she was right, he was no hero and there was no chance that he would ever be even close to a hero. Even if they had saved her from being eaten by a Walker, they weren't heroes. Dixons weren't heroes, never had been and never would be. The only thing they were good for was being drunk and hunting, at least Daryl. Merle was also exceptional at getting into trouble which had been evident in him being absent for a large portion of Daryl's childhood.

He forced himself to look up at the woman who sat across from him, dipping her finger in a jar of some chocolates spread. He allowed himself as she took her time licking every bit of chocolate from her fingers. There was something delicate about the way that she handled herself, to him she appeared as if she could break under the slightest amount of pressure, which was weird seeing that she wasn't exactly petite or skinny.

It was the way that she moved and the way that she looked at things. He couldn't explain it to himself better than that. Her eyes were the most delicate part of her, at least from afar. It was difficult to tell from where he was sitting but the sheer size of them had an intense effect on him. They were fairly wide and the color was captivating, how was he supposed to not be intrigued by them?

"Ya have no idea of what I am or ain't," he replied sourly, deciding that he wasted enough staring at the woman.

She felt kind of bad, since her words obviously affected him but soon began attempting to relieve her guilt. She certainly didn't plan on sticking with the brothers forever, so what was the point of trying to spare their feelings? It wasn't like the older one had any intentions of doing that for her and somehow she doubted that the younger one would do it too. She looked away from the younger brother, forcing herself to not feel bad about hurting his feelings.

She once again focused her attention on the jar of Nutella in front of her, carefully scraping the sides with her fingers and liking the sickly sweet spread off of her fingers, welcoming the taste of pennies as a distraction from the Nutella.

* * *

The night had been quiet and Daryl had finally had a chance to collect his thoughts. For some reason he wasn't able to concentrate with that damn woman sitting around, doing stupid things like eating some damn spread from a jar or playing with twigs that were scattered on the ground. He had welcomed the opportunity to keep watch, just in case their campsite wasn't site.

He sighed, thinking how fucked up things were beginning to get. Not more than two weeks ago he was at his home, hunting for food when he wasn't doing whatever work he could get. Now he was running off to Atlanta with Merle and some woman who was covered in blood. Running away from some damn monsters that ate people. Shit, he had been convinced that that was the kind of stupid crap that only belonged in movies. But here he was, keeping wake just in case those things tried to attack them again.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he saw a figure stand up abruptly and walk off into the trees. He waited a moment, debating whether he wanted to follow the figure, which obviously wasn't his brother. He looked at Merle, who seemed to be sleeping pretty peacefully and decided that his brother was far more capable of taking care of himself if he was awaken by the walking dead than the woman was if she ran into one.

He stood up and headed in the direction of where the woman had disappeared into.

It wasn't hard to figure out what she was doing from the sound of her retching. Figuring that it would be better for him to wait until she finished, he stood back and tried to keep an eye on her figure in the darkness. While she was struggling with what little contents she had in her stomach he mused what could cause her to need to release her stomach.

"Feelin' better?"

"Fuck!" He couldn't help but laugh as she cursed in surprise. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

"Saw ya stand up 'n wanted t'make sure ya were 'kay."

"You saw me stand up? Jeez, are you a…" Aideen paused to try to think of an animal that would be able to see in the dark. "An owl?"

"Ya really should clean the blood off of yer fingers, bet that's what's makin' yer sick. Besides, ain't ya afraid of getting' infected from the thing's blood?"

Aideen looked at the man whom she could barely make out in the dark. What was she supposed to say to him? She didn't want to tell him the whole truth but she certainly didn't want to risk him thinking that she was infected. Her heartbeat picked up as she tried to decide on what she was going to tell him. When he cleared his throat, as if he was impatient for her answer, she jumped right in with an explanation: "He wasn't one of those things when the blood got all over me. Someone-" she paused, wondering if he thought that it was the biters (as she had named them) that caused the deaths and changed people. She had experienced firsthand that a bite wasn't what made you into one of those things.

"Someone had attacked him and I tried to help him. I left to get supplies… and when I got back he had changed. Must've been bit or something…" She immediately praised herself mentally for being good on the spot and coming up with a solution. Judging from the silence on Daryl's part as they walked back into the direction of the camp, she figured that she was successful.

However, Daryl was far from being convinced of her story, something just wasn't right. If he had been attacked, why wasn't she a victim too? And if she went to get supplies, where were her supplies when he and Merle found her, nearly being consumed by the former person? Not that he liked to suspect that she did something, after all, why would someone like her, someone who had been a pastry chef before everything went haywire, kill someone? It wasn't like she was going to be good enough with weapons to take down a man double her size.

"Ya sure that how it happened? I don't remember seein' ya with any supplies," he said, deciding to speak up about his suspicions. After all, he wasn't one to stay quiet about something that aroused his suspicion.

"I didn't find any," Aideen replied, a bit too quickly. She sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to get very far with lying. She could lie to people that she knew well because she knew what they would believe. This was a complete stranger that had saved her life. She had thought she'd be able to pull it off, but apparently she wasn't destined to do so. However, much to her surprise and delight, he didn't say another word about her companion.

* * *

_day 14_

She had already been with the men for far, far too long in her opinion. It didn't help that she felt like the younger one was constantly throwing her a distrustful glance, as if he suspected her. He had no reason to distrust her, at least not from the way she behaved around him and his brother. She tried to ignore it, pinning it as a part of his personality rather than actual suspicion.

Staying with the brothers had its perks though. Both of them seemed pretty skilled at hunting and they were ruthless when it came to killing the biters, allowing her to saunter behind them, knowing that she wasn't really going to get in harm's way. Heck, if she didn't disdain the older brother's attitude towards her she would have considered staying with them for good.

"Aideen, wanna come 'n hunt?"

Aideen's head shot up at the sound of Daryl's voice. He hadn't really spoken a word to her after she lied through her teeth to him. It had been a relief to not be forced to interact with both brothers at once, since conversing with Merle required self-restraint and patience. Silence wasn't her favorite, but it was welcome while she was accompanied by strangers.

"No thanks," she said, declining as politely as she could. She watched as he shrugged and began to walk away.

"Finally got some alone time with me, huh, sweetcheeks?"

The sound of Merle's voice caused Aideen to immediately stand up and jog lightly after Daryl. "Changed my mind!" she called out, raising her voice only slightly. She would rather be in the presence of Daryl, who was a bit intimidating at times, than in Merle's company, who just rubbed her the wrong way. She wouldn't want to end up trying to stab him too, resulting in Daryl turning against her. She was sure that if that happened both Merle and Daryl would make sure that she would rue her decision to take action.

"Merle change yer mind?"

At first interpretation, she thought that he meant that Merle had talked her into going but upon seeing a hint of a grin on his face, she could easily assume that he was insinuating that Merle had driven her off. She tittered slightly, tilted her head back in amusement. At least Daryl wasn't blind to his brother's behavior.

"He ain't so bad. He's just a bit rough 'round the edges," Daryl explained, feeling as if he needed to excuse Merle. "Sort of had to be, growin' up where we did."

He wasn't really lying, not technically. Merle did have to be tough when they grew up and it did shape him into the man he was now but there was also a large portion of his personality that Daryl attributed to juvie and prison. Every time he returned back, Daryl had always found himself trying to remember if Merle had always been that way. Each time there was something new, something he didn't feel was familiar.

Against her better judgment, Aideen decided to reply to him: "Tough childhood?" She immediately regretted the decision as she reminded herself that she had no intention of traveling with them much longer which meant that she had to avoid growing to like them or, more specifically, Daryl.

"Ain't none of yer business," Daryl retorted by default. He was used to not wanting to share anything with others and usually, some dumb broad wouldn't be any different but she wasn't just some dumb broad. Not that she had exhibited any extraordinary skill, as far as he knew she was just as dumb as he was. Maybe it was those big gray eyes that lured him into wanting to tell her something more or the delicacy he had seen in her. Whatever it was, it annoyed him.

"Didn't have a ma 'n dad enjoyed the juice more than me 'n Merle. Ain't exactly a walk in the park."

Aideen wasn't exactly familiar with the juice but from the context she figured that it meant alcohol. If that was the case, it would help explain the behavior of both the brothers. Merle probably had too much freedom which turned him into the annoying, sexist man he was and Daryl might not have had much affection resulting in a quiet, intimidating man. She refrained from imagining what growing up in a home without a mother and an alcoholic father was like, for the sake of not feeling for the Dixon brothers.

"Sorry to hear that."

* * *

_day 15_

She needed to get out of there, and soon. It was weird- something had happened when she went out hunting with Daryl. They didn't converse much, just him occasionally telling her about how to hunt and she shared an anecdote about her former companion, saying that it had been her father to avoid accidentally letting it slip that she knew the man that nearly killed her. Somehow those interactions wound up causing her to feel giddy around him. Happy that he was around and sad when he wasn't.

That was something that she just couldn't accept. Wanting to be around a man was not like her, no, it wasn't Aideen Crawford. Maybe it was Lucille Crawford, but Aideen would rather be dead than become her mother. It didn't occur to her that it was a natural feeling that a lot of women, not just her mother, experienced. To her, wanting a man equaled weakness and weakness was taboo.

"Here."

She looked up, surprised to see a raisin container. She looked at it for a while, studying it and the hand that held it. She wouldn't have had to look up to see who was handing her the container, but she did just to see his face. Even though her feelings had changed, the indifference on his face told her that he didn't feel the same, that there had been no development for him. It only further enforced that she was becoming like her mother.

"Merle 'n I are gonna go huntin', get some proper food. 'Til then, eat this."

She accepted the container, realizing that this was her chance. She forced a smile of gratitude, not wanting to tell him that she was allergic to raisins. "Thanks." She watched as he walked towards Merle and the two of them began to talk to each other in low voices, obviously trying to circumvent her hearing their words. She didn't bother trying to listen, after all, what good would their conversation do for her when she was going to up and go as soon as they left?

"We'll be back. Just stay here 'n watch the camp, 'kay?" Aideen nodded, acting as if she intended on waiting for them.

She watched as they left, disappearing off of the road and into the trees. She immediately put the container down but she didn't dare get ready to move right away. Instead she studied their little makeshift camp, taking in every little detail. They had moved quite a bit since she first joined them, gone for miles and miles. Every day the surroundings were different. She liked this life, always on the go, always seeing some place new.

After a good half hour she stood up and hurriedly packed her bag with her things, taking a knife that Daryl had used to whittle wood. Both Daryl and Merle had their main weapons, so what harm was she doing when she took the knife?

In only a few minutes she had packed her part of the camp and she began to jog lightly down the road, hoping to find someone willing to take her up in her car or a car to steal. She wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but suddenly traffic seemed to stop and a lot of cars seemed… abandoned.

Whatever it was, it just meant that she could easily get herself a ride to Senoia.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, this is a new story. I have no idea how often I'll be able to update this, but I'll try to alternate between this and _Forever Yours_ and I'll try to be regular. just had this idea in my head forever. It's sort of ridiculous how long it's been in there. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

_Day 17_

Daryl knew that they were gonna stare. Wasn't a surprise though, of course _fine_ folks like them were gonna be castin' glances towards him and Merle. Not that it bothered him much; it just got on his nerves. Couldn't people mind their own damn business? He looked away from the people that were in the newly established camp and he looked down at the piece of wood he had been whittling. He didn't get far, however, when he was reminded how why he had his current knife.

Stupid girl had to run off on her own. What the hell was she thinking, acting as if she would be able to take care of herself while the whole world was ending around them?

Daryl grunted loudly in frustration, attracting the attention of some of the kids that sat nearby. He didn't pay them any mind though, not really. He could see from the corner of his eyes that the kids seemed to be frightened of him. It was probably good too, he figured. He wasn't a good guy, per se. Sure, he wanted to kill the damn Walkers, as they called them, and he wanted to stay alive. But he sure as hell wasn't going to take care of little kids or bend over backwards for someone who wasn't his kin.

"Still thinkin' 'bout sweetcheeks?" Daryl wasn't surprised to hear his brother's coarse voice all of a sudden, after all, who else would dare talk to someone like him? He looked up and gave Merle a sharp look, trying to warn his brother to stay away from the conversation and tell him that he was, in fact, wrong about him thinking about the girl. It was partially true anyways, he had just succeeded in directing his mind away from her moments before Merle came and ruined it all.

"I ain't never seen ya worked up over some broad, lil'brotha," Merle said, taking his place next to his brother. He received only an inaudible murmur from Daryl. It wasn't much use, trying to talk to him about something serious like women. Merle knew that it was his own fault; he was the one who had been cold and distant to Daryl and the one who taught his little brother that feelings were for pussies and that talking about things was a nancy-boy activity.

Despite that, he was still able to tell when his brother had something on his mind and when something was bothering him. He didn't care much for the girl himself. She had a mouth and an attitude; far too much hard work for Merle's taste. Yet it seemed that that was what Daryl was into, from the way he acted after she left. He was doing his best to conceal his concern and his thoughts towards for her, and his best was pathetic.

"A'ight, we don't gotta talk 'bout it now. Just know, ya don't gotta worry. Girl probably knew what she was doin when she left us, ya'know? She didn't look like the dumb type." With those words Merle left his brother's side, deciding that it was best to leave his younger brother to his own thoughts.

Daryl looked up and watched as Merle walked towards a couple of blondes that looked like they might be sisters. It wasn't often that Merle actually reached out to him in ways that weren't related to hunting or taking care of himself. Drugs, hunting and sex: those were the things that had always mattered to Merle, at least in Daryl's eyes. Now he was sitting in the middle of an apocalypse, in his early thirties, and his brother was trying to _console _him about a woman they had known for a total of four days?

A woman that Daryl was having trouble getting off of his mind despite his best efforts. She had the balls to tell his brother off and she was frank about the fact that she didn't consider him to be a hero of any sorts. Aideen Crawford was definitely not like any of the women he had encountered in his life before. Most Georgia women seemed to be meek and obedient, at least the Georgia women that he had been around. Maybe he had been looking in the wrong places for a female that suited to his taste (not that he had ever actively looked for one.)

He looked around, only to see a woman standing next to a man, looking positively afraid. He couldn't help but think about his father and all the nonsense that he had put him and Merle through when they were younger. Perhaps if he preoccupied his mind with other people's business, he would be able to keep his mind off of the fragile woman who was now beyond his grasp.

_Day 23_

God, it had been ages since she had been at nana's place. Aideen had been hoping that her nana would be alive but instead she was greeted with a biter infested town and an empty shell of what her nana had been. Putting down the one woman she looked up to was far harder than putting down her mother, who was a pathetic excuse for a woman. She had spent a good hour mourning the old woman before she decided that it wasn't a good idea to keep the body in the house.

After sucking the blood off of her fingers by accident nearly two weeks ago, Aideen had developed a rather sensitive sense of smell and a particular distaste for seeing biter bodies. She would almost immediately leave after she managed to can one, wanting to get away from the nasty smell as soon as possible. It didn't help that after she killed them, they somehow seemed more human to her. At least, her nana had.

She had been greeted with a snarling old woman, or what had once been a woman. Once she had neutralized the biter it had turned into a badly rotting corpse. There was no longer that eerie, empty look in her eyes nor was there that inhumane growling. Instead she saw an old woman who didn't deserve to become one of those things, someone who deserved to live to a very, very old age. Seventy was definitely not old enough for a woman of her caliber.

Aideen began to browse through her nana's personal items, picking out the things that actually meant something to her. Books that her nana spoke of but she never bothered to read, video tapes that were labeled silly, stupid things. _Aideen's first birthday. Crawford-Hyde Wedding. July 4__th__- Dancing._ It seemed that most of the tapes were something related to Aideen or her mother. Not that it was a huge surprise. They were all the old woman had for the longest of time.

A sudden bang brought her back into the moment and reminded her that she was not visiting her nana's place because she wanted to see the old woman or reminisce about times past. She had gone there in an attempt to save her nana from the nasty creatures that were taking the living's place. Aideen sighed, going into her grandmother's room, immediately reaching under the bed, where she knew for a fact her grandmother kept a shotgun.

She used to think her nana was just letting out the crazy southerner within her when she bought the gun for 'protection' but now she found herself thanking her nana for doing so. Aideen clumsily loaded the gun, having forgotten for the most part how her nana had shown her how to do it. But after a few minutes of trying to work it, she finally was able to do it, much to her joy.

It was time for Aideen to try and have a few peaceful weeks to herself in Senoia, without the dozens of biters trying to get to her every moment.

_Day 64_

Good food, alcohol. Hell, hot water.

The CDC had so much to offer that Daryl had never expect to experience again and he was supposed to be fucking happy about it. He wanted to be happy about the fact that they were living the life right now and whether or not it was temporary, that wasn't really supposed to matter. He was supposed to be thankful that in this god damn apocalypse he got something good out of it.

But the bottle of Southern Comfort had him a little off guard, had his mind wandering in places he had forbidden it from going to and it was threatening to kill him with guilt. He no longer had Merle hanging around him, that dumbass Rick leaving him up on a roof, so he had no one to reassure him that she knew what she was doing, that she was probably fine. Merle hadn't been particularly good at reassuring him, but he had tried.

Standing in the shower, allowing the hot water to envelope him and intensifying his drunken state, he allowed his heart to weigh heavily and his anger to seethe. He had known the woman for a total of four days and she was still on his mind, many, many days later. He still thought of her big gray eyes staring at him, telling him that he was no hero. Seeing right through him and compelling him to reveal something about himself that he didn't want to talk about.

She had just up and left them, like that. It certainly wasn't something that Daryl had been expecting. He had thought that he and Merle were going to have to take care of her, teach her how to hunt and eat some alternative food like squirrels. He wouldn't have admitted to anyone, not even Merle, but he had imagined that she would stay by their sides and that they would become a group. Much like the one he was in now (although he felt the one with Merle and Aideen would have been superior and far less irritating.)

Daryl turned off the shower and teetered out of it, awkwardly using whatever he could to keep his balance. He grabbed a towel he had taken out and wrapped it around himself before going into the room he had. His eyes darted towards the empty bottle of Southern Comfort and he found himself wishing that he more of it. The last thing that he wanted was to remember the black-haired woman in the morning and if he drank enough he could, maybe, induce a blackout of some sorts.

Resigned he threw himself down on the cot he had fetched for himself and closed his eyes, wanting to sleep rather than stay up and think about something that he had no power over.

If there was one thing that he hated, it was being powerless.

_Day 39_

The more time she had spent in her nana's house, the more she missed her old life. She even found herself missing her mother every once in a while, despite still feeling apathetic towards her mother's choice in life. So she had set out to try and find a new place to stay at, a new home. Staying in Senoia was only going to drive her to insanity, or worse, death. She had been walking for what felt like ages and her feet were getting tired.

Deciding that she deserved a break, she stopped and pulled out a can of green peas. She had tons of cans of food, beans, peaches, tomatoes, pineapple… You name it, she had it! She had been surprised to discover that the stores in Senoia hadn't been raided too badly and the empty houses usually contained some canned goods. Sadly, none of them had the Nutella that she constantly craved.

She awkwardly used the knife she had stolen from the Dixon brothers to attempt to open the can of peas. After a while of struggle the knife slipped, cutting her hand. She drew a sharp breath in pain, grabbing her hand immediately as she let go of the can.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

The amount of force she had been using in the attempt to open the can of beans had created a rather deep gash. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep the pain to herself but the sounds escape her lips and the tears were beginning to form and stream down her face.

She let go of the knife in her right hand and she used it to rummage through the bag she had with her. She could have sworn that she had packed bandages with her, but it was hard finding them amongst all the shit she had thought necessary to bring with her to survive. As soon as she began fully frustrated she began using her cut up hand to and she was cussing under her breath, so consumed with anger that she hadn't notice that someone was standing near her, watching as she rummaged through her bag.

"Hey! You okay?"

Aideen quickly pulled her hand out of the bag and grabbed the shotgun she had placed by her side in order to open the can. She flinched slightly as her wound touched the shotgun but she ignored the pain, obviously taken aback by the stranger.

"You just look like you could use some help."

"I'm fine," Aideen retorted, putting down the shotgun and deeming the man harmless. She began to look through her bag again, this time not crying in pain. She couldn't imagine allowing this man to see her cry, to make him think that she needed his help. She had spent two weeks on her own and she was doing _just fine_ on her own. Finally she felt the bandages under her fingers and she pulled it up quickly, waving it so the man could see.

"I can take care of it, see?"

"You could get an infection, you need to clean it," the man said as he approached her.

"Well, I ain't got anything to clean it with, so I guess I'm out of luck," she muttered as she put her things back into the bag. She closed it stubbornly, ignoring the pain in her hand that was poorly wrapped in bandages. She picked up the knife and stood up, making sure that she didn't make eye contact with the man who was beginning to make her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Why don't you come back with me to the farm? The owner's… a doctor," the man said, obviously hesitant.

"A doctor? Why do you sound so unsure about it?"

"Well… He's a vet, but he can take care of that for you."

Aideen paused for a moment, wondering whether it would be worth it to go with this man to the farm. There was a possibility that it meant good food again, maybe they had some sort of power in their area. She wondered whether they were actually going to be safe there. She studied the man, trying to see any indications of what his condition was. He seemed to be in fairly good condition, aside from being heavyset. He didn't look like he was starving and he certainly didn't look like he had to fend off biters every day.

"Alright, I'll let him fix me up," she said, walking towards the man. Allowing herself to be taken care of wasn't that bad, but she told herself that was all she was going to do. Get fixed up and be on her way again. Taking care of herself.

_Day 57_

It was dark outside but it wasn't difficult to distinguish a dark haired woman sitting on the porch of a rather large house. Her feet were relaxed and she leaned back, supporting herself with her arms as she stared at the sky. She had told herself that she wasn't going to stay at the farm, but here she was, still hanging around the farm, growing to like that people that live there. She had been hesitant about staying at first, even if the young woman, Maggie, seemed to insist on it. The old man, Hershel, had given off the vibe that she wasn't welcome there but eventually he took a liking to her, when she started doing some work around the farm.

She yawned loudly before straightening herself out to rub her eyes. She was always tired but she didn't mind. Most days she would go to bed late and wake up early. Aideen considered herself lucky if she was able to get a few hours of sleep. The nightmares had begun at her nana's place and at first, they had been manageable. She could get back to sleep after waking up from one. Now they were so bad that she could hardly fall asleep in fear of seeing the faces.

It wasn't like she could talk to anyone about it either. They revolved around her former companion, Peter, mostly. She had seen the Dixon brothers take care of him, kill him for her and saving her life. Yet he still came in her nightmares, grabbing her and holding her town. The hairs on her neck stood up slightly, just at the thought of his touch again. She wanted to talk to someone, but then she'd have to tell them about what happened and she was more afraid of how they'd react than what keeping the secret to herself would do.

"Out late again, I see."

Aideen turned her head to see Maggie standing in the door. She shrugged, indicating that it didn't bother her. She watched as Maggie sauntered towards her before taking a place next to her. Maggie was her favorite of the Greene farm residents, by far. She had been the one who welcomed her as if she was one of them, stood up for her when Hershel insisted that she leave and she allowed her to follow her around while they worked on the farm.

"You don't seem to sleep much."

Aideen looked at the woman next to her and caught herself shrugging again. Deciding that she could confide in Maggie with at least some of the information, seeing that the woman was surprisingly understanding, she let out a exasperated sigh. She could already feel a sympathetic vibe coming from Maggie.

"I have nightmares, they didn't used to be so bad before but every night they get worse. Most of the times I don't even want to go to sleep."

"They about the biters?"

Aideen looked at the woman next to her, her eyes searching for some sort of hint that it was okay to admit that to some extent, her nightmares did revolve around the biters. She smiled slightly, realizing that she was being silly. If Maggie didn't like the truth, too bad for her. It didn't matter that much, Aideen had left the Dixon brothers, she might as well leave the Greene family if she had to.

"They're about an… old companion. Peter. He became one early on in the apocalypse. I keep dreaming of him, coming for me to kill me, make me one of them. It's stupid, because I saw Daryl put him down. But he just pops up and he's always so angry at me. It's… terrifying."

She was surprised to find an arm placed on her shoulders and Maggie pulling her closer, her thumb gently stroking her arm as if she were trying to console her. Aideen had left out an important detail and she had meant to tell it to Maggie but this show of sympathy, this feeling of friendship caused her to keep it to herself. She allowed her head to rest on Maggie's shoulder and something strange happened. She began to feel as if she were a little safer, as if her nightmares weren't going to be so bad tonight. At least not as bad as they had been the past few weeks.

"I hope you don't mind me askin'. Who's Daryl?"

Maggie felt the dark haired girl tense up at the mention of the man's name. She had expected her to be more sore about Peter since he was the one she was having nightmares about but judging by her reaction, mentioning Daryl didn't seem like a good idea either. She brushed it off; telling herself that there was no way to take it back now. If Aideen didn't want to answer, she wouldn't and if she did, Maggie would know a little more about this mysterious woman who had been living with them for the past weeks.

"When Peter turned I was in shock. I tried to fight him off but I wasn't having any luck. Daryl and his brother, Merle, they happened to be passing by and they saved my ass from dying that day," Aideen recounted, purposely not going into details into the events. "I traveled with them for a few days but they were heading for Atlanta and I wanted to go to Senoia."

"They didn't want to join you?"

Aideen chuckled sheepishly. "I didn't really ask them. They went hunting one day and I just left without saying anything. I couldn't really risk them trying to stop me or something. Not that I think they would have done it, but better safe than sorry, you know?"

"You must have been pretty dedicated to get to Senoia on your own. Don't think they would have been able to stop you, even if they wanted to."

"I'm not so sure. Things were beginning to get weird."

"Weird?"

"Well, don't ever tell him if you meet him," she tittered loudly at her own comment, knowing that it was impossible for Maggie to meet the man. "But I think I was beginning to like him. I felt happy to be around him." She chuckled once she saw Maggie giving her an _are you serious_ expression. "I know it ain't a big deal to most people but I've never wanted that. I watched my mother depend on a man all her life, a man that was never at home and treated her like shit. I never wanted to become like her. I always thought that every woman who loved a man would become a blabbering idiot. Feeling something for someone like it, it scared me and I didn't want to risk wanting to depend on him."

"There ain't anything wrong with lovin' someone, Aideen. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be with them or wanting them to take care of you. Your mama might have been a fool, but that don't mean you have to be one too. You can love someone without being like your mother, you don't have to run away when you think you might love someone like that."

Aideen smiled at Maggie's words, happy to hear her friend say that. Over the weeks her views had begun to change. In her nana's house she had found countless pictures of a younger nana with her husband and she didn't see any unhappiness or a foolish woman in love. Living with the Greene's she had seen Patricia and Otis together and they showed no signs of dependency (at least not anything serious.) She saw the adorable aura that surrounded Jimmy and Beth.

"Guess it's a little late for that, ain't it?" she said quietly, smiling as she looked up at the Georgian sky to examine the stars.

_Day 64_

"Man, _now_ that was a good meal!"

Everyone nodded in agreement to Aideen's comment. At the end of the table, Jimmy seemed to be dozing off which wasn't surprising. They had spent a big chunk of the day working on the farm after getting up early and now they had just finished a meal that could easily be classified as a feast. She smiled from ear to ear as she looked at the people who had welcomed her into their home.

The only thing that she would have liked to top it all off with a good beer or two, but she knew that it wouldn't be possible. Maggie had told her about Hershel's trouble with alcohol after she had, unfortunately, mentioned how good a drink would be.

"I'm thinking about heading into town soon. I don't think that any amount of scrubbing can get the stains out of these clothes," Aideen announced, motioning towards the bloodstained shirt that she had been wearing for a long, long time. She had been considering leaving the farm but she had realized that she was beginning to feel as if this place was her home, as if she belonged there with the people. She hoped that they were beginning to consider her to be one of theirs too.

"You're not leaving us!" She was surprised to see that the first person protesting wasn't Maggie, but in fact her little sister.

"No, no! I didn't mean that," Aideen said, laughing slightly. "I want to run out and get some clothes, maybe find some supplies if there is something you need. I just want to get out and stretch my legs a little, you know?"

Hershel nodded in agreement, looking fairly serious. "It would be nice if you could try and get some supplies for us. If you can do so, and promise to return, we can loan you a car." Aideen nodded. She had absolutely no plans on leaving the farm permanently. She smiled, liking the idea of borrowing their car.

"I might set out tomorrow or the day after, get to Senoia, get the supplies, maybe stay at my nana's house, look for more supplies in the morning if I have to." She wanted to retrieve the rest of the things at her grandma's place that she hadn't had room to bring with her earlier, sentimental things that she thought that she would be fine without. Yet knowing that she could go back made her want to retrieve all those useless items.

"Excuse me," she said, standing up and picking up her plate. She tried not to show it, but she was excited to get away from the farm for a little while. While it was a place she enjoyed staying it, a change of scenery was something she would appreciate. A little excitement from killing biters, instead of capturing them like the Greene family did, was something she could see herself enjoying.

* * *

**A/N:** So sorry about no updates. Busy with school and life in general. I'm looking forward to having more time in December, break from University and all! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this update, I personally enjoyed writing it! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**_Day 68_**

"I think we might have made a mistake."

"Come on! You don't know if she's left us! For all we know she got hurt."

Maggie could see her father look away, seemingly disappointed with the situation. Aideen had promised to be back no later than a day after she set out and they had expected her to return on time. It was already two days since she was supposed to be back and even Maggie was beginning to doubt the blacked haired woman. It was hard to not doubt someone who they had only known for a few weeks. The worst was always the first thing to pop up into their minds once the apocalypse had begun.

"I ain't saying that she won't return. But you shouldn't keep your hopes up. People can be downright cruel, even to those who help them."

Maggie couldn't see anything cruel about Aideen. She saw innocence and fear, perhaps even the balls to do what she had to survive but not something cruel. But her father was right, people were cruel and people could be expert liars. Worst case scenario, Aideen had played all of them, trying to get their sympathies, trying to get something from them. Yet it was better than having her hurting them, and if she had been fooling them, Maggie found herself grateful that she had done it in a gentle, cruel, way.

"Hershel, there are people with Otis approaching!"

"What? How many?" the old man answered quickly, looking alert.

"Looks like two men and a child that's being carried."

It didn't take Hershel long to stand up, giving Maggie one last melancholic look before leaving the house. For a moment Maggie sat there and nursed the broken hope that Aideen had been returning with Otis. She shook it off, deciding that it was stupid to be so preoccupied with someone who could possibly have conned her whole family. She stood up, intrigued by the news of the visitors. In a few moments she was up on her feet, opening the door and stepping out, ready for a new group of strangers.

**_Day 67_**

Aideen couldn't recall ever being as out of breath as she was now. Her heart was beating frantically and her head felt like it was about to explode. She had never been much of an athlete, at least not running, mainly because of the fact that it would bring about the worst headaches she had imagined and completely fatigue her. Yet somehow she had managed to run for what felt like hours, although in reality it was probably something more like ten minutes at the most.

She leaned forward, trying to catch her breath, the heading plaguing her more by the minutes. She closed her eyes, taking a deeper breath. She wasn't sure exactly what she had seen, but it felt like she had seen a couple of men who looked like they were… alive and they certainly didn't look like men of the friendly kind. She wasn't sure whether she had just been seeing things, but she wasn't really to take a chance that they were friendly. The Greene's had been very clearly kind people; there had been no doubt in Aideen's mind that they weren't going to do bad things.

But those men, there was something off about them. They were the kind of men she would cross the street when she saw them walking towards her on the sidewalk. They were the kind of men that looked like they had some sort of hidden agenda, or at least something that they were trying to keep other people at bay.

The piercing look that she had received when one of them laid eyes upon her had prompted her to run. Hearing them call for others certainly didn't help either. Aideen straightened herself out and looked back, dreading the sight of grown men running towards her. She let out a sigh when she saw no one and deciding against dillydallying any further, she ran towards the nearest house and darted in and closed the door as quietly as she could.

Immediately she was greeted with a putrid smell that seemed to come from further within the house. The more residential places Aideen entered, the more she noticed that nothing ever smelled good anymore. At large majority of houses had rotting food in them that had soured considerably and sometimes Aideen was lucky enough to encounter a biter or two.

While she would usually complain out loud of the putrid smell, Aideen decided that it wouldn't be a good idea, not with the terrifying looking men who may, or may not, have followed her. She took careful breaths, trying to make sure that they wouldn't go too far down. Not that it did much use- her stomach was churning with the putrid smell and she had to fight the urge to empty the contents of her stomach as she searched for somewhere to hide.

Just as she heard what sounded like the front door opening, Aideen opened up the door to a small closet filled with piles of clothes. She gently squeezed herself into the closet and closed it as gently as she possibly could, effectively making no noise. She quickly moved the clothes around before lying down and covering herself in the clothes, praying that the pile would suffice as a disguise.

Aideen tried to keep still and hew breathing relatively quiet but she found it to be increasingly difficult with the way her stomach was twisting and turning, threatening to make her chuck at any given second. "_Just a little longer, come on._" She urged herself in her thoughts, keeping in mind that if she would give in, she might be getting herself in big trouble.

"This place smells like shit."

"You smell like shit. When's the last time you took a shower?"

It angered Aideen to hear the cheerful tone in the men's voices. What right did they have to banter when she was trying to keep the contents of her stomach in fear of attracting their attention? Hell, this was not a world meant for jest, not anymore. You could be happy, if you were safe, but joking around was far from appropriate. Not that Aideen was going to take her own advice if she ever was in a pleasing situation.

The sound of a door creaking nearby caused Aideen to quit her thoughts and freeze. He had opened the closet door! She could only imagine one of the men, standing at the door, looking into the closet in which a pile of clothes were resting on the floor carelessly. Did he think it was weird that such a big pile of clothes was in that tiny closet? Was something of her sticking out, so that he was able to see that the closet wasn't just filled with clothes, but also with a woman who was trying to get away from them? A sudden kick to the clothing pile caught her off guard and Aideen barely managed to catch the yelp of pain in time. She feared that it was over, all over. After all, he had kicked straight in the direction of her stomach. She closed her eyes, and found herself praying to a God she had never believed in, asking him to spare her from the horrors that these men might be capable of performing.

Instead of hearing the man claim that someone was in the closet, she heard the door close and steps going in the opposite direction.

"Looks like we lost her."

"Too bad, really. She was a pretty one. I would have liked to give her a taste of my medicine, if you know what I mean."

Aideen listened intently as the two men as they laughed and after a few minutes she heard what sounded like the front door shut. Immediately she threw the clothes off of herself and unable to keep it down anymore, she spilled the contents over her stomach over the clothes and herself. She hadn't notice, but for the most part, she had held her breath while the men were in the house, only allowing herself to take a deep breath on occasion.

Devoid of energy, Aideen pushed away the vomit soaked clothes and allowed herself to lie down. Within minutes her eyes were closed and her mind was drifting off to a more pleasant and safer place.

**Day 58**

"Do you guys always work this hard?" Maggie laughed at the woman's words and she turned her head so that her eyes were upon Aideen. She knew that it was a rhetorical question, but somehow she felt compelled to answer her current companion.

"You should know by now, you've been here for quite a while."

Aideen shrugged before she continued to shovel out the pile of horse crap. Compared to most other things that she had encountered in the apocalypse, horse shit actually smelled pretty good. She tittered lightly at the thought that horse shit smelled nice. Her world had truly changed. There was no use in insisting that things could ever be the way they had been before. Even if they would rid the world of the biters, they still wouldn't be able to start from where they left off. It was likely that they would have to live like the Greene's for the rest of time, if they were that lucky.

"I know you don't really want to talk about it, but-"

"Why are you asking me then?"

Maggie looked at her friend again, worried for a second that she had offended her. But when she saw the smirk on her friend's face, she realized that Aideen had only been yanking her chain. She returned the smile, feeling a bit more comfortable about the question she was about to ask. It wasn't like Aideen avoided asking questions just because they might be uncomfortable to someone, so why should Maggie to it to Aideen?

"What was Daryl like?"

Aideen stopped what she was doing and looked at Maggie, her heart vibrating throughout her body. She should have expected Maggie to ask about him, after admitting that she liked Daryl. She shrugged as she began to allow herself to think back to the dirty redneck, trying to recall what he had actually been like. Of course, she didn't really allow herself to get to know him beyond what he had told her, which wasn't much.

"Don't know how to describe him, really. He was really dirty, like he had been rolling around in the mud," she said, receiving a chuckle from Maggie. "But that might just be the whole, you know, biters killing everyone thing. He looked tough, maybe even a bit scary. Not that I was afraid, but he was the type you wouldn't want to mess with."

"He has these sharp eyes, like he's always waiting for you to do something suspicious. Like he doesn't trust anyone in the world but his brother. It's hard to not look into them, to not inquire who he is underneath all the filth and all those layers of protection. He always looked a bit… surly. But not like, Scrooge kind of surly more like… Mr. Darcy." Aideen sighed desolately. "I don't really know how else to describe him. He's unlike any other man I've seen before. Sharp eyes, strong figure… The kind of guy you'd like to depend on in a world like this."

Maggie didn't look up from her work, in fear of making Aideen upset with the smirk on her face. Even if she claimed that she hadn't been with the man for long, it sounded like she was completely enamored of him. At the very least, she was looking at him as if he was some kind of hero and she hadn't spoken of anyone in that way before. Maggie found herself hoping that she would be able to feel something like that for someone, perhaps something a bit more positive than viewing someone a scary, surly man who didn't trust anyone.

"He sounds nice."

**Day 68**

It was getting dark, far too dark for Aideen's comfort but she had to get back to the farm. She was supposed to be back a long time ago. How long, she didn't know. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious after she passed out in the closet but she felt like she had been gone for far, far too long. It had been tempting to sleep a little longer in order to regain the strength that she had lost but she couldn't bring herself to do so. At least not while thinking that the Greene's could be considering her a traitor.

The icing on the cake was that she hadn't even been able to get all the supplies that she had promised them. New clothes, food that was still good and a decent supply of supplements were the things she had been able to find but things like medical supplies had managed to elude to her completely. It didn't matter where she looked, the only sort of medical supplies that she had been able to find were some poorly constructed first aid kits.

Her heart leapt with joy as she began down the road towards the Greene farm. She stepped on the gas, attempting to get there a little faster. She opened the car window, attempting to rid the car of the smell of vomit which had transferred from her clothes to the car. It was bad enough that she had the car for far longer that she originally intended, but returning it smelling rotten was even worse.

She made a mental note to tell the Greene residents of the men that she had encountered in Senoia.

* * *

"She's back!"

Nobody needed to be told who was back, at least not the residents of the Greene farm. Most of them had doubted that the woman would ever return, having been gone for a bit longer than she had promised. But their joy was shadowed by the little boy who was on the verge of death, in the room that had belonged to their guest. The anxiety for the boy's life didn't stop Maggie and Patricia from going out to greet their lost guest.

"Aideen! We were beginning to think you'd run off on us," Maggie admitted as she approached the car. Her smile was wiped away when she saw some dry, cream colored material on Aideen's clothes and the distant look in her friend's eyes. She scurried towards her friend, immediately offering to help her stand on her feet. The black haired girl refused, shaking her head as she motioned for Maggie to stay away.

"I'm fine, I don't need your help," she said, sounding as if she was out of breath. "Where is everybody?" she asked, realizing that only Patricia and Maggie were out to greet her. Although she did figure that she wouldn't be anyone's favorite after being away for so long, she at least expected most of the residents to come out to see what the hell had been going on with her.

"Let's get you inside and we'll tell you the whole story."

"No, we're going to take the supplies in and you'll tell me while we're at it, okay?"

Maggie was taken aback by the pigheadedness that Aideen was displaying but she decided that it wasn't going to be any use to make her do things in any other way than her way. They went to the trunk of the car and began unloading it as soon as it was open. Maggie wanted to comment on the way her friend seemed to struggle with unloading the trunk but she kept her comment to herself and decided to tell Aideen about what had happened.

"Otis was… huntin' and… Well, he… accidentally shot a boy."

"Biter boy?"

"No, alive."

"Holy shit! Did the boy die? How is Otis doing?" Aideen seemed a bit more animated now that she had heard of the accident, which soothed Maggie's worries for the woman. Her mental note about the men immediately left her mind and all she could think about was how things had been hectic while she was gone, how she had missed out on trying to help with the boy.

"He's in your room; they're trying to save him. Otis and a guy from the boy's group are getting supplies from the school. His parents and dad are with the boy, trying to keep him good and alive." Aideen frowned, displeased with the fact that the news of the poor injured boy wasn't better. But it wasn't really a surprise; after all, he was just a boy who had been shot with a gun that was suitable for hunting. They were lucky that he hadn't been killed on the spot.

As soon as Aideen had put her load on to the floor in the house, she looked at Patricia and Maggie with a sheepish expression. "I was wondering if it were possible for me to, you know, clean up?" Maggie smiled softly and nodded, instantly leading Aideen to the main bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked with a concerned expression on her face. She could tell that Aideen was far from being at her best but she didn't want to stress it too much, seeing that her friend had just returned and a lot of other things were going, causing tension for everyone on the farm. She wanted to ask what had happened in Senoia that had caused her to be covered in vomit and looking feverish but she had a feeling that her friend wasn't going to tell her anything that would shed light on the situation.

"Fine, just like to get cleaned up and change clothes," Aideen said, looking down at her stained shirt. Without further exchange she went into the bathroom, leaving Maggie to watch her as she closed the door.

Immediately Aideen pulled of her shirt, revealing what looked like a rash that had formed under the once moist vomit. She didn't know how they had their water working, but Aideen was thankful to be staying with the Greene family as she stepped into the shower and drew the curtain. Sure, they didn't have any hot water but at least cold water was able to remove the revolting smell that had been filling her nose since she woke up.

* * *

She hadn't meant to shower for so long, but at least she was clean now. The only source of the putrid smell she had endured was the shirt that was lying on the floor.

Aideen stood in front of the mirror, staring at the woman in front of her. Her once full cheeks were beginning to hollow out slightly, whether from lack of proper nutrition or lack of food, she didn't know. Under her eyes she had dark lines, making her appear as if she hadn't slept for years. Her skin was paler, accenting the freckles that peppered her face. Her eyes didn't shine like metal, as her nana would always say. She wasn't sure if they had ever shone, but regardless, they did no more.

She looked away as soon as she realized that she was beginning to look a lot like her mother.

Suddenly the door swung open and Aideen was greeted with the sight of a tall, tanned man with shabby, dark hair. She managed to grab her towel quickly, only allowing him to see her naked body for a moment. The fact that she stood naked in front of him didn't seem to register in his mind right away. After a few moments of her glaring at him, he seemed to realize the situation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was in here," he apologized, looking more afraid than surprised that he had walked in on someone. Aideen couldn't put her finger on what it was, but she wasn't getting a good vibe from this man. In fact, there was something about the way he looked away as he closed the door that reminded her of Peter.

Right before he closed the door, she thought she had caught a glimpse of something odd about his hair but before she was able to study it further the door was shut.

* * *

**A/N:** As some of you might have noticed, I've been busy with University recently. I only have one more exam until Christmas break though, and then I'll have all the time in the world to just... Write. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had a tough time with it at first but then it got way better. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**7.46 AM**

"Don't you think she would like to say farewell?"

Maggie shrugged, lacking the proper mind to reply right away. The previous night had been bittersweet at best. They saved the boy, but Otis was gone and Aideen returned. Good, bad, good. It was hard to not feel sad for Otis but she was also relived that her friend had returned in one piece.

"I think she needs to sleep. She didn't look good last night. I don't know what happened, but I don't think waking her up before she's ready will do her any good."

Hershel nodded, understanding Maggie's words. He was happy that he really could trust the black haired girl to help them out to the best of her abilities and her returning despite being sickly was a sign that she was to best trusted. It was far better than what could be said about the newcomers. The man returning without Otis was bad enough, but he didn't want to have to support more people. They were pulling things pretty tight as was. He gave one last nod to his daughter before headed back up the stairs, anxious to check on the little boy who had been on the verge of death the previous day and he was hoping that nothing had worsened since he last checked on him.

**10.23 AM**

Maggie wanted to focus on the funeral. She wanted to be able to mourn Otis with all her heart but there was something that caught her attention that was keeping her mind away from the memorial service for Otis. Not that she allowed anyone to see it. Her hand was on Patricia's shoulder, comforting the woman as she tried to keep her act together in front of the people, including the newcomers.

Her eyes would wander past the cute Asian boy and they would continually land upon the man on the Asian boy's left. There was something vaguely familiar about the way he looked although she couldn't quite figure out what it was. She was fairly certain that she had never seen him before, she was good with faces and he had the kind of face that she couldn't forget easily.

Her brows furrowed slightly, just enough so that it was unnoticeable for anyone who wasn't looking directly at her, as she pondered what it could be that was so familiar. Perhaps, if he cleaned up his face a little bit she would be able to recognize. It looked like someone had smudged dirt on the man's face, possibly distorting what he actually looked like. She wondered if the man that Aideen was so infatuated with was as dirty as this man was.

That was it!

It was weird and the odds were certainly against her that this was the case, but the more she thought about it, the more he looked like the man that Aideen described. From being a little scary looking to the sharp, suspicious eyes, he was very much the man her friend had described to her. She found herself feeling a little excited, although it didn't come without guilt, feeling excitement at someone's farewell.

It was almost like someone was watching over them- giving them something to look forward even though they had just lost a good friend. Maggie found herself wishing that Aideen hadn't been as sickly as she had been the previous day, so that she could have seen them reuniting. Not that she was much of a romantic, but from the way Aideen spoke of Daryl, she imagined that if this was indeed him, it would be like a scene from a movie.

**3.17 PM**

"Anyone mind telling me why the hell no one came in to wake me up, after I overslept?"

She was furious. She was angry. But most of all, Aideen felt guilty. She had been away from the Greene's for days, she had skipped out on her duties and helping them because she was being a dumbass in Senoia and now she skipped out on helping because she was sleeping. Not that it was hard for her to imagine why she hadn't been woken up. She had sensed from Maggie the previous night that she was worried. Not that she needed anyone to worry over her. She had never been too sick to work. Her pride had never let her skip on a day of school or work because she had a little cold or stomach ache.

On top of that, she could see a group of new people, people she had never seen before. She knew that she wasn't exactly a part of the family nor was she close to them like Patricia and Otis, but she felt that she had earned a place amongst them. She had thought that she was accepted enough to be informed of new people living right next to them.

"Aideen, what are you doing out like this?"

"Maggie, I want to know what is going on. You don't wake me, no one tells me about all these people here," Aideen said, motioning towards the group that had gathered around the well. "I want to help." To the others, T-Dog, Lori, Andrea, Shane, Glenn and Dale, the short black haired woman looked like she was throwing a childish fit. The way she stomped her leg when she proclaimed that she wanted to help out and the way that she acted as if she deserved to know everything came off as a little too lively.

"You were sick last night. We thought it be best if you just rest today, you know, not strain yourself."

"He's not going for it."

The bearded man's words caught Aideen attention, causing her to calm down and allowed her to drop the possible argument with Maggie. She quickly paced towards the well, only to see a nasty, fat walker at the bottom of the well. "That's one ugly biter we got here," she muttered, not paying attention to the conversation that the group was having without her. It wasn't until someone mentioned life bait that she intervened.

"You know, he isn't the smallest, or lightest one here," she immediately suggested as Glenn received looks from the group.

"Look, we appreciate your concern, but we got this," Andrea replied. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't want the pale, dark haired girl to go down the well and do their job for them. Maybe it had been her childish attitude, or maybe it was because she wasn't a part of their group. Whatever it was, she didn't want the girl doing something that they were fully capable of doing it on their own.

"Andrea, she has a point though. It would be easier to pull her up quickly if we need to," Dale chimed in, causing Glenn to let out a sigh of relief. He was all up for doing whatever the group needed him to, but going into a well with a hungry walker was definitely not something he was anxious to try out.

Aideen watched as the blonde back up a few steps, looking slightly offended and annoyed that not everyone in her group took her side. She couldn't help but smirk just a little, feeling triumphant as she got her way. Her eyes travelled to Maggie, who was looking at her disapprovingly. She appreciated her friend's concern and she could understand why Maggie would be worried, but she didn't want to be someone who had to be taken care of. She didn't want to be the sick woman who skipped out on doing every single useful thing simply because she had been feeling a little under the weather.

**3.41 PM**

"So how's this going to go down? I'm going to go down, dangle in front of fatty, tangle him up and you guys yank me out of there, right? In and out." Aideen looked at the stranger questioningly, waiting for one of them to nod to her, promising that she would be able to get out of there alive.

"We'll get you out of there in one piece; don't need to worry, alright?"

Aideen looked up at the man who had been making the final adjustments to the rope that was tied around her. It suddenly struck her that he was the man who had walked in on her when she got out of the shower. It hadn't hit her right away since he no longer had that full head of hair and he didn't look like a deer caught in headlights. She caught herself checking him out as he walked away towards the rope and she immediately looked away. Her eyes landed upon Maggie, who was standing a little further away with her hands on her hips, looking at Aideen as if she were a child who had done something wrong.

"Ready?" She didn't wait for anyone to answer her, as soon as she saw that they all had the rope in their hands, she began to lower herself into the well. She could easily hear Maggie instructing the rest of the group to lower her more and more.

A small creek caught the attention of the group, causing the lowering of the rope to stop abruptly. Maggie looked away from the well to the front man of the group, who seemed to be looking at the pump slightly worried. "Everything alright?" she questioned.

"I'm good!"

Maggie ignored Aideen's reassurance, not wanting to frighten the woman unnecessarily. The look one Shane's face told Maggie everything as the creek grew louder. In what seemed like an eternity but was most likely just a few seconds, Shane barked commands, telling the group that they had to relocate as the pump broke off. Had Glenn gone down instead of Aideen, chances were that they wouldn't have had the proper warning to relocate not would they have been prepared for the pump to break which would have likely resulted in an untimely death unless a miracle had taken place.

"Shit! What the hell is going on?" Aideen shouted, suddenly lowering down rapidly. They had stopped her from falling into the claws of the biter, but her heart was beating against her chest harshly reflecting the fear and rush that was going through her veins. Her fingers clawed at the stones of the well as she desperately tried to get a grip. Using the hand that was free she tried to ensnare the biter.

"Get her out of there!" Maggie yelled, grabbing the rope in hopes of getting her friend out of harm's way. She felt a sense of desperation that she hadn't felt in a while and it occurred to her that Aideen was no longer just a strange woman who had received shelter in her home, she was her friend. She stared at the well and once she saw a hand emerge she let out a sigh of relief.

"I told ya you shouldn't be doing stuff like that! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Maggie said, half-heartedly scolding her friend. As soon as she was all the way out of the well Aideen smiled mischievously, somehow giddy from the shock and rapid heartbeats.

"Better than if he woulda gone down, don't ya think? Don't know if he were too heavy. I coulda just saved a life," Aideen said, consciously speaking a bit differently than she was accustomed to. She noticed a smile on the Asian man's face from the corner of her eye. "But we got the job done, despite everything. That's what matters, right?"

**5.37PM**

"Fuck."

Aideen had been so preoccupied with the well-dwelling biter and the newcomers that she had failed to notice that in the process of trying to climb up the well in fear her left hand had gotten pretty badly scratched up. She winced as she tore bits of skin off in order to prepare for the oncoming disinfectant gel. Taking proper care of wounds wasn't exactly unfamiliar to her, having worked in a kitchen, but it had been a while since she had gotten hurt and it had been quite a while since she had free access to proper medical supplies.

She looked away from her hand as she heard some sound coming from the general direction of the other group's camp. She shrugged to herself as she saw someone leaving the RV and for a moment, she started tending to her hand once more. But it was only a moment, because the next thing she knew, Aideen was forced to look up towards the RV again, thinking that she had seen something strange.

And strange it was.

She watched as a figure walk in the opposite direction of the Greene house and there was something about the way that the man walked that kept her eyes on him for a good while. She had never been one for thinking about the way people walked, but there was something about the way that the man's arms would swing slightly and the aggressiveness in his steps that felt vaguely familiar to her. Aideen tittered slightly, realizing that it was silly to think that she felt someone familiar in the way somebody walked. After all, how could there be anything truly memorable about how someone walked, that differentiated them from someone else?

**1.26 AM**

Feeling helpless was not something that Daryl liked. Ever since he could remember, he had been able to take care of everything himself. Yet since the Walkers turned up, it was one thing after another. Not being able to find Sophia, losing Merle… That stupid woman. It was like life was taunting him, making him take care of himself his whole life and then making him unable to take care of others when he actually wanted to be able to do so.

His fingers curled into a fist and he allowed it to impact the ground that he was sitting on. The frustration was beginning to get to him and he was beginning to lose his patience. It didn't help seeing Carol cry her eyes out for little Sophia either. She had the capacity to be an annoying cunt but most of the time she was nice enough. She certainly didn't deserve to lose her little girl.

_But she ain't lost her yet_, he thought to himself in an attempt to cling to the hope.

His frustration was suppressed when he heard the sound of someone walking not too far from him. More than pleased to be able to have a possible reason to relieve his frustration he picked up the crossbow in one quick move and aimed it in the direction from where he heard the sound. He peered his eyes in an attempt to see what was lurking in the darkness. After a few seconds he was able to make out a frail figure and as soon as he noticed the dark hair he lowered his weapon.

"What the hell are ya doin' out 'ere, Lori? Ain't good t' wander after dark," he said, sounding far more aggressive than he originally intended. The figure stood in one place, obviously looking at him. The longer she stared at him, the more he was able to distinguish facial features and in the end he was able to tell that the woman standing in front of him wasn't Lori.

"Why ain't ya gettin' sleep, farm girl?" he snarled, purposely being aggressive. Taking care of the group didn't bother him too much, but he wasn't about to take care of the people who owned the farm. They didn't seem too keen to host the group, so why was he supposed to be keen on protecting them?

"I'm not a farm girl, asshole."

Going out late at night had been Aideen's escape. It had been one of the few things that were able to keep her sane when the nightmares would seek her out at nights, which were most nights. She had gotten a small vacation from them when she had passed out in Senoia and her first night back at the Greene farm, but that had only been a small break. Now she was back to waking up after only an hour, at most, not wanting to sleep again.

Now her one escape was being ruined. Not that she wouldn't be able to sit on the porch at night but the option of being able to go out to walk would always include the possibility that some asshole would try rain on her parade.

As the outlines of the man became clearer, it occurred to her that he was the man she had found herself staring at earlier that day. The man who had the very familiar swing of his arms and aggressiveness in his steps. She found herself feeling a bit disappointed that he was being an asshole, but she should have guessed. No one can walk in such an abrasive manner and be a pleasant person.

"'S dangerous out 'ere, ain't no place for a girl like ya."

"Look, I can take care of myself. I'm no farm girl. I'm a guest- like ya'll," Aideen replied, making sure to emphasize the last part, mocking his redneck way of talking.

"Whatever. Don't blame me if ya get eaten."

For a few minutes there was complete silence, the two people just staring at each other, waiting for their features to become clearer as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. There was obvious tension between the two of them, both of them obviously tired of the other person. Daryl refused to let some stupid girl get the best of him while Aideen didn't want to allow the man to win the argument. Giving a humph she seated herself on the ground, not far from the man.

"What the hell are ya doin'?" Daryl asked, his voice stained with annoyance.

"Sitting, what does it look like?" she retorted, looking towards the Greene house which was barely visible from where she was sitting.

Daryl grunted, trying his best to make it unknown to the woman that she was succeeding in getting under his skin. He wasn't usually reserved about when people were getting on his nerves but there was something about the way she talked back to him that made him think that she was trying to do so and thus, he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of letting her know that she had achieved her goal.

His eyes having finally adjusted well enough to looking at the woman in the dark, he started seeing something that was strangely familiar. The obviously pitch-black hair, the size of her eyes. The only thing that wasn't extremely familiar was the paleness of her skin that reminded him of illness and the hollows that were beginning to form in her cheeks that were a clear indication of malnutrition. He could feel a minor spike of excitement in his limbs as he allowed himself to imagine that this was indeed the woman who had abandoned him and his brother early on. It would almost completely wipe out that failure, leaving him with only two instead of three.

"What's yer name?" he asked hesitantly, not sure if he really wanted to hear the truth. There was always the chance that she wasn't her, that he was just mistaken in the darkness. He watched as she turned her head and he was able to study her face better. He had to hold back from pressing her to answer him, realizing that it would not do any good. If it was her, he had managed to bicker with her and he needed to avoid pushing her buttons further.

"Why? Ain't I just a farm girl?" she questioned with attitude in her voice.

"Jus' tell me."

"Ain't none of your business."

Daryl sighed in frustration. He didn't recall her being so _snappy_ when they travelled together. He could have sworn that she was perfectly pleasant, besides being covered in the blood from her companion. Deciding that it wasn't going to do any good to try and get her to tell him her name while she was pissed off at him, he turned his way and looked in the direction of the house that she had been staring at. There was just one light that helped illuminate the house enough so that it was visible from where they sat.

After a good ten minutes he stood up, deciding that he would have to _find_ her some other time. It didn't matter if he was letting her win by leaving, not if she was the woman who he failed to keep an eye on. He began to saunter away from where she sat, his steps not as aggressive as they usually were. When he was a good ten feet from her, he could hear her loudly tell him her name, causing a corner of his mouth to turn upwards, forming a fragment of a smile.

"It's Aideen."

* * *

**A/N: **I thought writing would be easier once Christmas break started... Guess not! Well, I managed to write this chapter up though. I sort of like how stubborn/childish Aideen can be, I think it can be a bit fun. :) Well, I hope you guys enjoy it! Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**9.17 AM**

Aideen had been watching the two women hang up the laundry, trying to think of the best way to approach them. Her exchange with the aggressive walker the previous evening had her curious about the group. At least that was what she told herself. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was curious about the mysterious redneck, that she wanted to know more about him and that she thought the best way to get to know him was to get to know the rest of the group.

Not that she minded. She liked sensible people, people that weren't needlessly stupid and from what she had seen of these people, they weren't dumb and they certainly were unnecessarily aggressive either. While she wasn't exactly a people person, she wasn't a loner either. She was in the middle, enjoying people's company while also enjoying spending time on her own.

She took a deep breath and stepped off of the porch and headed straight towards the two women. She tried to find the right words in her head, the right phrase to let them know that she wanted to befriend them. Her nerves were eased slightly when she realized that one of the women had been presented the previous day when she had volunteered to go down the well instead of Glenn, as she now knew. She caught Lori's eye and quickly smiled, not realizing that her smiled was characterized by a nervous slant.

"Good morning, ladies," she said as she stopped, standing close to the women. Both of them smiled, the unfamiliar woman bearing a more confident one. There was something strange about the way Lori smiled, as if she had something that she didn't like.

"Good morning."

"We haven't met before, I'm Aideen."

"Nice to meet you Aideen, I'm Carol."

Aideen was caught off guard to hear the unfamiliar woman's name. She had been listening in on just about every conversation she overheard that was about the group and apparently they had lost a little girl who they were desperately searching for, and Carol was the one who was supposedly the little girl's mother. She hadn't suspected it in the slightest from the genuine smile that Carol had shot her way. She couldn't imagine being strong enough to greet someone with sincerity while having a daughter lost in the wilderness.

"Do you, uh," she paused, trying to find the words. "Need any help? I'm itching to do something besides shovel horse shit all day," she finished, a sheepish look on her face. How come she felt so nervous speaking to these women? Why was she so anxious to get "into" the group? Embarrassment overtook as she realized that it was happening again, that she was feeling excited for some man that she didn't even know.

"We're just about finished here," Lori replied, trying her best to reassure the dark haired girl with a smile. She hadn't seen it before, but the woman who had approached them was very nervous for some reason. She hadn't appeared to be the nervous kind the day before when she had offered to go down the well, but as Lori was discovering, a lot of things can change in just one day. "Actually, there is one thing you could help us with," she said, looking at Carol with a smile.

"We were thinking that we could thank ya'll by cooking dinner tonight, if we can use your kitchen."

Pride went through Aideen's whole body as it dawned upon her that she fit in well enough with the Greene's that she was assumed to be a part of the family. She did consider herself a part of the family, now that she had been staying with them for what felt like ages, but she had always assumed that she didn't look like she could be one of them. She was as far from being a country girl as she could possible get, living in Georgia. The closest she came to being in the'real' country was visiting her grandmother in Senoia on occasion and that had been quite rare.

"Well, I'll have to talk to Maggie, or someone. I'm not actually from around here," she said, her tone filled with elation. "I'm sure they won't mind. Hershel's maybe a bit wary of your group at the moment, but he'll come around. He warmed up to me; I don't see why he wouldn't warm up to you."

"Well, you certainly look like you belong here. Have you been here long?" Carol inquired as she hung up a shirt. She was intrigued by the woman and talking about it was just one more way to keep her mind off of Sophia.

"Feels like I've been here for years," Aideen answered, chuckling slightly. She took a moment to try and count the days that had gone by. "Guess I've been here for a month, maybe. I gave up on trying to keep track of time after the first couple of weeks. Might be able to tell when a season has passed, so I might know the years when the time comes, but yeah, maybe a month or so."

"Otis found me," she said with a small smile, a sudden surge of sadness flowing through her. Otis had been the one who brought her to safety and she liked to think that if he hadn't convinced her to go to the farm, she would have gotten an infection. She wanted to be thankful for him thinking about her so she convinced herself that without him, she wouldn't have survived. It was fitting that he died in a trip to save someone's life. "He convinced me that I needed medical care. Soon enough I was working whatever chores I could manage and before I knew it, I started to feel like I had a place again."

"You weren't alone, were you?"

Aideen was pleased with the interest that Carol was showing her. The nervousness that she had experienced when she first approached the women was rapidly disappearing. They were people, as the Greene family was and as the Dixon brothers were. The only reason she had been nervous was because of the hand-swinging man she met in the night and now she realized that allowing him to get the best of her nerves was a dumb thing.

"Oh, I was. I travelled with two brothers when all this shit started, but," she paused for a moment in order to ask herself whether she should censor her language around the women like she tried to do in front of Hershel. "They were heading for Atlanta and I needed to go to Senoia. I left them and from then to when Otis found me, I was on my own. It was stupid, because I couldn't wield a weapon to save my life and I should have died a long time ago. But, lady luck was on my side, I guess."

"Sounds like someone was watching over you."

Aideen looked at Carol, her mouth slightly agape as she let Carol's words sink in. She had spent a good part of her life without supervision and an even greater part of it taking care of herself. She didn't believe that some higher power would take care of her and even now, after being incredibly lucky, she didn't find herself believing in someone watching over her. But she appreciated the sentiment and the fact that Carol thought that she was good enough for "someone" to watch over her. She was always being surprised by other people's kindness.

"What are you planning on cooking? Do you think pie will go well with it?" she questioned, suddenly looking forward to getting to know this new group better.

"Whatever we cook, I'm sure pie would go well with it," Lori answered with a genuine smile.

"I'm going to go find Maggie then," Aideen replied, turning around and heading away from the women, not knowing that she was missing the sight of the man she had encountered the previous night by mere minutes.

**9.48 AM**

There was a little excitement in Daryl's heart as he prepared the horse. Having found Aideen gave him an extra push, one that he had been wanting for quite a while. He did want to find Sophia, not because it had kept his mind off of Aideen, but because a little girl shouldn't have to wander on her own, trying to survive in the forest. Maybe he was trying to do what nobody else did for him when he got lost. The difference being that he had known how to take care of himself. Sophia didn't grow up in the woods; she didn't know what to do.

He figured that there must be more of a chance that he would be able to find Sophia than him being able to find Aideen. So since he found Aideen, he must be able to find Sophia. If he didn't, well, he must be some sort of dumbass. Doing things backwards, finding the impossible but not the probable.

"Come on, let's go find that little girl," he muttered, petting the horse before jumping on to it. He could just feel that today was going to be his day.

Today he was gonna do some good.

**11.22 AM**

"Talked to any of the newcomers yet?"

Maggie couldn't help but grin slightly when she heard Aideen's question. She had been dying to tell her friend about the pharmacy run but somehow, the time never seemed right. There were always too many people around, never enough privacy. She had hoped to find her friend out on the porch the previous day, but all she had seen was the surly man that Aideen had told her about returning to a tent. She looked around, checking for ears that weren't supposed to hear her. Once the coast was clear, she grinned and leaned towards her friend.

"You know Glenn and I went to the pharmacy yesterday, right?" she questioned. Aideen turned her head and immediately she caught the infectious grin that was on Maggie's face. The two young women locked eyes for a moment before laughing in unison, appearing like two school girls who were sharing dumb secrets. But this wasn't dumb, at least if what Aideen assumed had really happened.

"Maggie, you _dog_! I take my eye off of you for a second and-"

"Shh! Don't be so loud," Maggie said, her serious expression cracking as a smile broke out once more. "I don't know what came over me. But he's cute and I thought _what the hell_. It's the end of the world anyways, why not have a little fun with life?" They continued their current chores in silence, each of them grinning over their little secret.

"Well, if you're not gonna tell, I'm gonna ask," Aideen said, breaking the silence. She wore a stupid grin when Maggie looked at her. "How was he?" Immediately Maggie laughed, amused by Aideen's curiosity. She couldn't imagine what she would do without the dark-haired girl. Having a secret was fun, but sharing it with someone who wouldn't freak out was even better. It had been a while since she had someone that she felt that she could share nearly anything with.

"A lady don't kiss and tell," Maggie said, chuckling slightly.

"Well, you're no lady after yesterday, now are ya?"

"He was… alright. Pretty good for someone performing in a pharmacy, I suppose. I didn't let him know though, said something about not getting those eleven minutes back again."

"Maggie, really? Poor guy, he must think he really pissed you off."

There was a moment of silence as Maggie imagined how her words might have affected Glenn. She looked at Aideen appreciatively. She knew that she had been a little harsh, but she didn't consider that she might have actually hurt his feelings. But if she did hurt him a lot, he was more than likely a drama man and that was something that Maggie was definitely not looking for.

"How about you, Aideen? How long has it been since you've seen some action?"

Aideen stopped what she was doing and began thinking back. It had been quite a while since she had done anything with anyone. She shrugged as she tried to trace back her nearly non-existent love life. Of course, if she counted the times where'action' was thrust upon her, she had experienced it fairly recently but she was reluctant to tell Maggie about that just yet.

"Couple years, I think. It's been a while."

"Years? Sounds like you need to find yourself-"

As Maggie stopped her sentence, she remembered that Aideen had specifically stated that she had been adamant about _not_ depending on a man, on not becoming like her mother. Taking that into consideration, it didn't come as a surprise that Aideen hadn't been with someone for quite some time. Maggie smirked, remembering that Aideen had also changed since she came to the farm. She didn't seem as much against being with someone now than she used to be.

"Well, at least you got someone now," Maggie said in thought.

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing! I mean-" Maggie sighed in frustration, unhappy with the fact that she had thought out loud. "I was going to wait for you to see him for yourself. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, you know, seeing him like that all of a sudden."

"Maggie, spit it out!"

"Look, one of the men in the new group reminded me of the man you described, Daryl?"

Aideen was about to protest but as she opened her mouth, things seemed to come together. The stranger that had the aggressive walk, the man that swung his hands in such a familiar way. The way he spoke to her when she met him in the night, the rough accent and strange tone. Whether Maggie had seen the right man, it certainly seemed like he could be the Daryl that she left oh so many days ago. She suddenly felt annoyed as she remembered how he insisted on her telling him her name and how she had told him- and he said nothing to her.

"That bastard!"

"Excuse me?" Maggie asked in disbelief.

"That asshole, piece of shit, mother-lovin', bag of crap."

"Aideen? Didn't think ya'd be mad," Maggie said, surprised.

"He knew it was me! At least when he left. He didn't say a word! Not that I would have said anything but, but he should have! Ugh, what a dumbass." Aideen finished putting away the utensils that she had been using before she began heading in the direction of the camp that belonged to the new group.

"Aideen! What are you doing?"

"I'm going to give that SOB a piece of my mind!" She called out as she marched towards the house and the camp.

She knew that it looked like she was overreacting and truth was, she probably was. But it pissed her off that he would just let her tell him her name and then not tell her that it was him. Why was he allowed to know that she was there and she was left in the dark? Mother figuratively and literally! Yet under her annoyance she was happy, although she didn't plan on running around the farm, telling everyone that she was happy about finding Daryl. Being happy was one thing, parading about it was another, more pathetic, thing in her opinion.

"Excuse me, Carol, you don't happen to have a Daryl Dixon in your group?" she asked, trying to keep her cool as she talked to the gentle woman. Carol looked at her, a brow raised and a curious look in her eyes.

"Yes, we do. Something wrong?"

"Do you know where he is? I'd like to have a word with him."

"He's out, looking for-"

The annoyance wore off Aideen once she realized what Carol was talking about. He was out with the others looking for Sophia, Carol's little girl. Her heart ached slightly as the guilt seeped in. She raised her hand, placed it on Carol's shoulder and she used her thumb to gently rub Carol's shoulder. Carol offered her a gentle smile before moving away from Aideen's hand and she returned to the RV she had just been leaving when Aideen caught her.

"Typical Daryl," Aideen muttered, although she didn't know what she meant by that. Daryl didn't have any typical behavior, at least not that she knew of. She was just being bitter that she hadn't been able to see him right away, a little disappointed that she hadn't been able to refresh her memory of what he looked like. She humphed as she began heading towards the house.

**8.19 PM**

Aideen had volunteered to stay in the kitchen, in fact, she insisted on it. There were hardly enough seats for everyone and she didn't want them to squeeze even tighter together just so she could sit between them, leaving every now and then to check on the pies. She was happy that she had decided to stay in the kitchen, because there was a very heavy and awkward atmosphere emitting from the dining room. When there wasn't silence, someone was saying the wrong thing.

She glanced up from her plate as someone walked into the kitchen. It was the man who had walked in on her when she had been coming out of the shower a couple of days ago. He nodded but looked away, as if there was something that made him uncomfortable. She forced a titter, in hopes of clearing the tense atmosphere.

"You ain't the first, certainly ain't the last. Nothin' to be embarrassed about," she said, winking to him. He looked at her with a questioning expression. It took a few moments before he cracked a smile as if he finally understood what she meant with her words.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't in my right mind," he apologized.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I doubt anyone's in their right mind nowadays, with people dying left and right, you know."

She watched him intently as he scrubbed his dish clean and left it in the sink, probably thinking that one of the women would finish cleaning it up for them. Not that she could blame him and not that it wasn't true. The world they currently lived in called for more sexism than ever, in her mind. Carol and Lori would stay back and do laundry, as she had seen earlier that day while the men would go out and search for the little girl. It wasn't exactly _wrong_ to assume that the women would clean up after the men, although Aideen had no intention on cleaning up after them.

She'd rather die defending herself from Walkers than sit at home and depend on the men to keep her safe.

"Everybody done?" she questioned, receiving a prompt nod from Shane. She smiled, picking up the two platters that contain four whole pies. Two pecan pies and two peach pies, her personal favorites. She had considered asking them about what pies they wanted but decided to choose what she liked the best. After all, she was the one who was making them. She walked into the dining room, carrying the platters and placing them on the table.

"They look great."

Aideen smiled when she heard a few people muttering something about the appealing look of the pies. "I sure hope so. I would hate it if I was unable to make pies appetizing; it would be a waste of twenty thousand dollars," she said, receiving half-hearted chuckles. She looked up from the table when she noticed someone entering the room from the corner of her eyes. She turned her head and smiled at Carol, who had earlier come into the kitchen to gather food for Daryl.

Carol could see the anxiety in the look in Aideen's eyes and she was happy to see that someone else seemed to be concerned about Daryl's wellbeing. She didn't know the woman, but her character so far had left a good impression and she was sure that she could only do good for Daryl. Usually she would have questioned whether her intentions were good and she had done so earlier. But seeing that she was in fact worried about him (however hard she tried to hide it) gave her hope.

"Oh, maybe you should give a slice to Daryl," she suggested in a reserved manner, trying to not attract everyone's attention. The black-haired girl nodded slowly, trying to hold back her enthusiasm.

"I'll be back," Aideen announced quietly as she slipped away from the dining room. She knew exactly what room Daryl had been put in, only because it had been the room that she had taken over since Carl, the little boy, had been put in hers. It seemed that no matter how many guest rooms the Greene family had, they were all due to be filled up with strangers.

She tiptoed down the hall, for some reason afraid to make any loud, sudden noises. When she finally reached the bedroom, Aideen to a deep breath in order to prepare herself. Her heart was beating a little faster and she debated whether she really wanted to see Daryl properly again. What if he wasn't exactly like she remembered? What if she had, by accident, glorified him in her mind, made him stronger, wilder. Gave him attractive qualities. After all, they hadn't gotten along the previous night.

She knocked lightly before cracking the door just a smidgen.

"God damn it, can't you people leave me alone?"

She set one foot in before awkwardly looking around for somewhere to set the plate with the two slices of pie down. The nightstand beside the table was occupied by the tray that Carol had brought up earlier. She carefully closed the door with her foot, not wanting to have other people barge in unannounced or listen in on the conversation that might take place.

"I just wanted to bring you some pie. Pecan and peach," she said, trying her best to conceal the nervousness that was present throughout her body. She pursed her lips, waiting for the man in the bed to reply.

Daryl didn't want to turn around. He knew what her voice sounded like, after all, he had spent a good while arguing with her the previous night and it was hard to un-hear that it belonged to her. His limbs were stiff, not just because of the day but because he wasn't sure if he wanted to face her. He wasn't even sure if he deserved to see her, after he had failed today. He thought back to his "time" with Merle, how he taunted him.

But Aideen had never been a bad thing, at least not the way Merle talked about it.

"Thanks." He muttered, hoping that she would leave him alone. He felt a bit embarrassed, being stuck in bed and taken care of by Carol and now Aideen. He grunted. He didn't need anyone to take care of him; he was damn capable of doing it himself. If anything he was supposed to be taking care of them.

"God, you're such an asshole, Daryl."

Hearing her words, Daryl couldn't help but force himself to sit up, so that he was able to face the dark-haired girl. He had only gotten a rough image of her before, in the dark. Now that there was a lamp to light her up, he was able to see that she did indeed look sickly, with slightly hollowed cheeks and bags under her eyes. He supposed that her going out late at night, like she had done the previous evening, wasn't exactly a rare occurrence which had resulted in the bags. She certainly did look mad at him, her gray eyes piercing into him with annoyance.

"Don't know what yer talkin' 'bout," he muttered.

"The hell you do. You knew it was me yesterday. I told you my name for fuck's sake."

"So? Ain't like I'm supposed to tell ya who I am."

"Well, you should have told me. It's not fair that you just know that I'm here, alive, while I don't know what happened to you!"

"Stop bein' a bitch," Daryl growled. "Yer the one that left us. Ya don't give a damn what happens t'me," he replied bitterly. He hadn't even realized that he was bitter because she left. He had always assumed that he was just worried about her, doubtful that she would be able to survive on her own. But she left him and that had hit him a little hard. He had thought she liked them.

"Screw you Daryl! You don't know whether I give a damn or not," she retorted. She bent down and placed the plate on the floor by the bed before marching towards her bag which was sitting in the corner of the room. She looked at the man sitting in the bed, all bandaged up and looking at her with his sharp eyes. She did remember him right, at least the handsome features of his face and the sharpness in his eyes.

As she put her hand on the doorknob, she turned once more to look at Daryl, frowning slightly. "I left because I gave a damn. I didn't want to be pathetic and care about some man I just met, hoping that he's okay. Because I thought that kind of shit was stupid." She opened the door and stepped out of the room, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

"And it is stupid 'cause you're an asshole."

She slammed the door and made a beeline for the front door, not wanting to deal with anyone. On one hand, she was incredible relieved and ecstatic to meet Daryl again, on the other she wanted to beat and yell at him for not revealing himself as soon as he knew who she was. She didn't like being in a dark about anything, especially not about things she'gave a damn about.'

Meanwhile downstairs, Maggie couldn't help but hear someone raising their voice and slamming a door. She sighed, disappointed that thing hadn't gone like a movie between Daryl and Aideen. But she found herself slightly relieved that she didn't have to deal with arguing with some man about something that was likely stupid. She eyed Glenn carefully with a hint of a smile upon her lips. For her, things were going just swimmingly.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I managed to write this chapter. Oh, it was so much fun actually. Especially the last bit, hehe. But thank you guys for reading and reviewing! You guys are awesome! :) I hope you enjoyed the update!


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